Whilst it would be easy for me to lift the research done by the official site’s writers straight off the page and publish them here, it feels only right to direct you to the original piece via the link above. Believe me, it’s well worth a minute or two of your time.

For years, we as a football club have been known for grinding out results without the merest hint of a flourish to our play, but now, under the guidance of the remarkably bullish character that is Alan Pardew, we are beginning to control games from start to finish.

Playing the sort of football that Ian Holloway no doubt dreamt of when he first set foot in SE25, there has been a monumental shift in our style of play under Pardew, focussed far more on ball retention than ever before.

Thanks to the influence of players like Scott Dann, James McArthur, Pape Souare and Yohan Cabaye we can now pass the ball freely without fear of readily surrendering possession at every turn, which in itself, still feels like a minor miracle to those of us who have been coming to Selhurst Park regularly for 10 years or more.

All too often in the past, incoming managers have described us as something of a “sleeping giant” without ever seeing their claims backed up with tangible results. Under the watchful eye of Alan Pardew, it finally feels as though we are awakening from a decades long slumber.

Take a moment or two to enjoy the statistical findings attached via the link above; we’ve seldom had it so good.